We have been in an "owl" mood lately. It doesn't help that our neighborhood owl has been rather loud in the evenings and reminding us of his presence. That means we have been making a lot of owl crafts and learning activities!Affiliate links. Owl Crafts and Learning Activities Owl Crafts and Learning Activities: Owl Headband My daughter helped me design, cut, and sew this owl headband after she saw the one I made for her little brother. (more info here if you want to make one too) ... Read more...
Gardening with Kids When to use Seeds vs Transplants
Gardening with kids is a ton of fun. I can easily get overwhelmed in the seed and vegetable plant section at our local home improvement store. Ohhhh the choices of gardening! I am so thankful that we do have choices, but it is hard to decide WHAT I want to plant and then I need to choose how to get THAT plant in the garden. So when do you use seeds vs transplants?When do I use Seeds vs Transplants It seems that I end up with a combination split almost equally between using my own seeds ... Read more...
Tot School At the Beach
A beach day doesn't mean your little one isn't learning. In fact, we LOVE having Tot School At the Beach. It's the perfect place to play and learn about the natural world.Tot School At the Beach Activity Ideas If you have ever traveled with an opinionated toddler - you would know that keeping your home routines while away from home keeps everything a little saner. It does help if you bring a dump truck along too!We have been doing tot-school on the beach, focusing on living and ... Read more...
Whoooo wants to make an owl costume for pretend play or Halloween?
Make an owl costume for pretend play or Halloween.DIY Owl Costume Headband This little hoot was so easy to make. For less than $1.00 and about 10 minutes of time (depending on how many helpers you have) you can make one too. These owl headbands are great for pretend play in the garden and could be a start to a Halloween Costume. Both my kids are not hat or mask fans, but didn't mind these headbandsYou could probably do this on your own - but why not let the kids help? I let ... Read more...
Learn with Monarchs!
A fluttering butterfly can inspire an entire week of exploration at my house. Learn with Monarchs this week! Here are a few activity ideas:Learn with Monarchs: ReadIt just so happened that we started #8 "Zippy's Tall Tale", a book in the Butterfly Meadow series by Olivia Moss this week. We had stopped at a local kids consignment store and the owner recommended this series. We zipped through the first one and started this one on Monday. I am reading several chapters to my ... Read more...
Living and Nonliving Garden Walk with FREE printable
How do you know if something is alive? For adults it's an easy question. You children may not easily identify. Teach them how to decide if something is with a Living and Nonliving Garden WalkHow to Organize a Living and Nonliving Garden Walk Not only do I get to garden in my backyard, but I also volunteer one afternoon a week in my daughters' school garden. Each week, I teach small groups of 5 kindergartners a different gardening topic and connect it to their curriculum. We started out ... Read more...
Make a Bell Bush
There is something powerful about the sounds of children making music. Make a Bell Bush and your kids will surely chime some music for you during their outside playtime!I don't remember where I first read about creating a natural playscape and using music, but I do remember from the first moment I read about it, that I wanted to have a place for my children to make music outside.Materials Needed to Make a Bell BushBells Ribbon ScissorsHow to Make a Bell BushCut ... Read more...
Little Hands that Cook with Books: Teddy Bear Biscuits
Our Teddy Bears joined us for cooking class today to make a Teddy Bear Biscuit and learn all about the Food Groups. We sang songs about teddy bears. The first one was Teddy Bear, Teddy Bear Turn Around and the other was this song.We read the Story Where’s My Teddy by Jez Alborough. We decided we were going to make something from the Bread group. Make your own Teddy Bear Biscuits Recipe Ingredients 1 tube (7-1/2 ounces) refrigerated buttermilk biscuits (10 ... Read more...
Apple Star Prints to Create Starry Night by Van Gogh
I’m always trying to find ways to expose my children to various mediums of art and famous artists and pieces of art. This week we did a quick lesson using this adorable called Touch the Art: Make Van Gogh’s Bed by Julie Appel and Amy Guglielmo. Touch the Art: Make Van Gogh's Bed (Disclosure: Affiliate Link to Amazon)I think this is such a great series to teach children about art and incorperate reading! Since it’s a tactile series it is perfect for this age of ... Read more...
Who gives a hoot about saving seeds?
Saving seeds is an essential part of keeping our plants diverse. Organizations may follow strict guidelines to keep varieties of plants separate from each other. We are pretty casual in our saving seeds.We want our kids to knowwhere seeds come from how seeds form how plants begin how nature assists plants in making more (wind, other animals...)There is just something extra special about teaching children to grow something from their own seed. How powerful can one seed ... Read more...
